My grandma's rhubarb jam recipe called for 'a good handful' of sugar, and figuring out that exact amount took me three batches last spring.

I finally asked my mom, who said it meant the old blue coffee mug in her pantry, filled to the brim. Anyone know how to translate other old measurements like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

victor_butler5023d ago

My great aunt's cookbook uses "a teacup" for liquids. Turns out it's not a measuring cup, it's the actual floral china cup she always used for tea. "A pinch between your thumb and two fingers" for salt was another one, but her fingers were tiny. You basically need the original person or their exact tools to decode it.

cameron37122d ago

Actually that's part of the charm. Makes it feel like her recipe, not just a generic one.

victor_lane6015d ago

Read somewhere that old recipes used "butter the size of a walnut" as a measure... always stuck with me.